video – Eva Blakeman

Boss Lady Energy

Intimidating Women

Do people call you scary? Intimidating? Loud?

Then we have something in common.

I see myself as a sweet lady but other people seem to see me as some tough biker lady who doesn’t spend her days baking and day dreaming of adopting dogs. Externally I understand that I wear mostly black and I stopped smiling at strangers when I moved to a big city because it was inviting the wrong kind of attention (I grew up in a town where a smile and a good morning was normal, but when I moved to Edmonton I found out that smiling at most people will lead to them asking inappropriate questions). From a distance maybe I even look mean.

I didn’t realize how intimidating I am until people started telling me that I am. My old roommate, friends, ladies at the bank and even neighbours.

I realize though that I am a loud person. I speak freely and my opinions are not something I hide but rather enjoy talking about. I speak with my shoulders back and I am physically larger than most women. I have cold blue eyes and I understand that some people still see tattoos as a bad thing. Combine all that together and you get the kind of person who scares people even though I’m not trying to.

Not long ago my friend made an outdated joke while I was in the kitchen and I realized the amount of power I hold due to being intimidating woman because all it took was me to lift an eyebrow for that man to sit right down and apologize for the inappropriate jest. There is a balance to this though. I do not find joy in intimidating others, actually when people make that commentary it hurts. I don’t want to be known that way, I want to be known as someone who is kind and loving. At the same time though, I like that being intimidating makes my conversations easier and more direct. People don’t waver in conversation with me and my questions are answered promptly and respectfully.

While there is power in intimidation, I don’t think it is wise to actively try to intimidate people nor do I think anyone is always scary. When I am frosting cupcakes I don’t think anyone would be intimidated, but when I’m swinging an axe, I can see why people might want to keep their distance.

We now hear about girl boss moves, female empowerment and using our voices to make the world better and I want to see that become the norm. Be loud, take up space, call out bullshit and support the people around you in a healthy and sustainable way that is built on respect and empathy. Use your loud voice to help other people, to speak with and listen to those around you. Shine bright. Know your worth and understand the choices you make are your own. No one else can make them for you, so

If you want to be a kick ass working mom, then do it! We see women at the top more and more and we are slowly changing to understand that a woman with kids isn’t worth less than a man with kids.

You want to start a company? Do it! Employ others, build communities, provide worth and profit from your drive.

You would rather travel the world freely than have kids? Good! Go find yourself and explore the world, engage in culture and find joy in your travels.

Be proud of being loud. Be proud of who you are and you are becoming. Be kind and embrace life.

Reviewing Bigfat’s Hot Sauces

In this review I am starting with the mildest of the sauces and working my way to the hottest at the bottom. Unfortunately Scoville units aren’t available for all these sauces so I am using their heat scale that is posted on their bottles.

Eva Blakeman – Bigfats Hot Sauces

Bigfat’s Joy Ride

A basic sauce without a lot of heat that brings beautiful bell pepper flavour. A perfect addition to a bland salsa or to use as a dip. It embraces the smokey flavour of the habanero, as I have found most of the Bigfat’s sauces do. It has a nice blend of garlic and oregano that adds a depth to its flavour.

Bigfat’s Kats Eye

This blend of poblano and habanero mixed with herbs and spices leans into the smokey flavour with a subtle hint of cilantro that adds well to the overall herbaceous flavour of the sauce. This would pair beautifully with smoked meats and would make for an interesting dip as it doesn’t have enough heat to stop people from enjoying it.

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Bigfat’s Double Dark

This blend of coriander, sage, cherry balsamic vinegar and black pepper rolls through your mouth. The mint and cherry comes through, making it a wonderful addition to hard cheeses and other rich foods. I could see it pairing well with grilled fruits.

Bigfat’s Dream Dragon

This chipotle pepper mix is reminiscent of a rib sauce with it’s sweet flavour but the smoked chipotle flavour comes through, making it potentially the best rib sauce you have ever had. It has a wonderful mix of sweet and spicy flavours that will make your mouth water.

Bigfat’s Harissa Style

The coriander, fennel and rosehips makes this a very fragrant and herbal sauce that would make a wonderful marinade. I love it in a sandwich with aged cheddar on fresh bread but could see it being very versatile despite it’s minty and herbaceous flavours. There are layers of complexity to this sauce that makes it truly unique.

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Bigfat’s 608 Pineapple Habanero

This is a true pineapple hot sauce with a sweet start and a spicy finish. This sauce is reaching a point where heat may become uncomfortable for those who don’t often consume spicy food, but for a hot sauce lover, this sauce makes a wonderful addition to the collection as it is versatile and delicious. This sauce also leans into the smokey flavour.

Bigfat’s 708 7-Pot Citrus

A sweet sauce that tastes of yum yum pickles and smoked chipotle. It’s great sauce to mix with mayonnaise for dips or over chicken. It’s heat level is likely higher than the average individual would enjoy, but for those who love the heat, this sauce is a fantastic addition to your collection.

Bigfat’s 708 Epic Series – Optimus Primo

This sauce is almost identical to the Bigfat’s 708 7-Pot Citrus sauce with the distinction that the pepper used is hotter. This is a sweet smoked chipotle flavour that is guaranteed to add kick to your meal.

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Bigfat’s 808 Naga Jolokia

A mix of three peppers that has a strong chili flavour. I didn’t find it to be overly hot, but the richness of the pepper comes in an earthy flavour.

Bigfat’s 808 Epic Series Octo Maximus

This sauce is hot. So incredibly hot. Aside from the heat, there is a great blend of peppers that has an earthy and rounded out flavour. But mostly, it’s really really hot.

Let me know your favourite hot sauce in the comments and please recommend new sauces to me. So far I have a collection of around 40 sauces, but I love trying new ones and playing with their flavours.

A story of why I have so many hot sauces:

Many months ago my fiancé bought this silly little sauce called “No Joke” from our local grocery store, which we tried but laughed at because there was no noticeable heat. We were disappointed so we went out looking for hotter sauces available in our city. Unfortunately we couldn’t find anything hotter than sriracha so we went online and discovered the endless sea of sauces.

We put an order in with Hot Sauce Unlimited and were happy to find extra sauces in the box when we opened it. They often send promotional sauces with your order, so we got to enjoy 6 sauces instead of just the 4 we had ordered. As we kept ordering new sauces to try, they kept sending extra sauces with our orders, so our collection grew quickly. Unfortunately my mail lady thinks that we are insane, as every time I see her she is handing me another box of hotter sauces. The last time she delivered a box, she expressed her concern for our health, but hopes we get to keep enjoying our spicy food. Our hottest sauce at the moment is our 808 Epic Series Octo Maximus. Our worst sauce is Da Bomb Ground Zero (seen below), as it has a terrible flavour that doesn’t mask the heat at all, but rather adds to the discomfort.

Once we had gotten to around 20 sauces, we decided we didn’t need hotter sauces, we needed different sauces. Most sauces are tomato and garlic mixed with other flavours, but we wanted variety, so we started ordering sauces that sounded unique, or who used different ingredients in their recipes. This has lead us to some great sauces, but also to some that are just not versatile that we have a hard time pairing. The prime example of a hard to pair sauce is our Blueberry Hell sauce (seen below).

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Reviewing Hot Sauces

So Ryan and I love hot sauces and eat a lot of them, which has lead to us now owning over 40 hot sauces. This is part two of our series of videos reviewing sauces. Some we blind taste test, others we just discuss. This time around Blair’s Mega Death Sauce with Liquid Rage was our hottest sauce, sitting at 550,00 SHU, and it burnt my tongue like you wouldn’t believe.

Please let me know your favourite hot sauce in the comments and if you have ever found a sauce that is just too hot for you.

Since filming this video, I have acclimated to the Blairs, and can now enjoy it in small amounts without suffering, but I will admit that no sensible person would every need this sauce in their life.

Sriracha

A simple sriracha sauce with a lot of strong pepper flavour without much sweetness that suits almost anything. To explain the flavour, I would call it a beautiful blend of bell pepper and sriracha pepper flavour.

Secret Aardvark

This is a well loved sauce as it isn’t too hot and is bursting with flavour. It describes itself as a Caribbean Tex Mex with it’s blend of turmeric, mustard, peppers, spices and sweet flavours.

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Shaquandas Hot Pepper Sauce

A unique sauce with strong carrot flavour that mixes well with the heat it brings. It has a sweet pickled flavour that yields well to chicken.

El Yucateco – Habanero XXXtra Hot

This sauce has a smokey flavour that could be added to any grilled or sautéed dish. While it does have a good kick of heat, it isn’t unreasonable for the average consumer.

Blairs Original Death Sauce

This sauce has a strong chipotle flavour that pairs well with hard cheeses and red meats. That being said, anything you would put chipotle on, you can enjoy this sauce on.

Bravado Spice Co. – Ako Miso

This sauce has heat and is very umami. It tastes strongly of miso and is excellent for adding to seafood and ramen dishes. I could see it being appealing on a variety of fried noodle dishes, but it isn’t a sauce I particularly enjoy, due to my personal dislike of umami.

PexPepper – Painapple

This sauce has three ingredients. Reaper chili, honey and pineapple. The pineapple and honey come through strongly and are backed with intense heat. This sauce is probably hotter than the average individual would enjoy, but for heat enthusiasts, this sauce is a great addition to meals and dishes that need a little fire without a lot of strong conflicting flavours.

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Da Bomb – Ground Zero

I can’t say a single good thing about this sauce. It tastes bad, the texture is uncomfortable, and without good flavour, the heat is just unjustified.

Mad Dog 357

This sauce tastes like a spicy Yum Yum pickle. There is no strong vinegar flavour, but a sweet underlying flavour that compliments the heat so perfectly that the sauce is very enjoyable on it’s own as well as paired with anything you would enjoy sweet pickles with.

Blairs Mega Death Sauce with Liquid Rage

This sauce is very very strong. It states that you should not eat it undiluted. While the flavour is simple, the heat is almost unbearable. Since the filming of this video I have increased my heat tolerance, which allows me to enjoy Blairs Mega Death, but I don’t think anyone who is adding hot sauce for flavour would use this sauce. This sauce is great for those who want to push the limits of heat, but the average person should steer clear.

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Why You Should Play Video Games With Your SO

Growing up, my brothers played a variety of games. I remember watching them conquer Shadow of the Colossus, the Spyro trilogy, JACK, Ratchet and Clank as well as countless Final Fantasy games. I enjoyed sitting as quietly as I could watching characters and worlds move wildly before me. As I grew older, I got to play some of the easier games. Mostly Need For Speed Underground, as I could win “money” for my brother, which allowed him to upgrade his vehicles.

Through my teen years my video game life consisted of Roller Coaster Tycoon, Wii Fitness and World of Goo. As you can tell at this point, I was not an avid gamer, and I didn’t have a lot of experience.

As an adult I purchased a PS4, so that I could play Rocket League, GTA 5 and the Spyro Reignited Trilogy. To one ones surprise, I am not very good at any of those games, but I do enjoy playing them nonetheless.

What I didn’t expect was that my boyfriend and I have spent countless hours playing games together. Not all of them difficult or requiring skill, in fact we often play Mario Party together, as you can play as a team and it’s nice to win and lose together. We play CTR together, and we celebrate each others achievements and progress.

Gaming together has given us another thing in common, and an inexpensive activity to enjoy together.

We get to cheer for each other and bring up each others spirits when someone loses and that is a wonderful feeling to behold. We have discovered over the last year or so that there are two games I am actually better at than my partner is, they are Mario Party and Slay The Spire. It is no coincidence that those two games are the ones I’ve put the most hours into.

No matter who’s winning or losing, or even if I’m merely watching my partner play, we are spending down time together, and in a life with hectic schedules, many social appointments and highly erratic shifts at work, I cherish those hours we spend with controllers in our hands and smiles dancing on our faces.